One week later

Radiation treatment has been over for one week and Rich expected to bounce back to normal within days.

He was told that he had more recovery time and that the radiation was to drag him down with fatigue for at least 4 to 6 more weeks and some people...well, it took longer.

Rich is not patient in this area.
He decided to mow the yard.  This involved cleaning the mower deck, cleaning up the blades, and other things in preparation.

By noon he was exhausted.  I suggested a nap.  

He did get up and get the yard mowed around the house before he parked the mower.  I could tell by the way he walked that he was done in.
He'd been cautioned not to overdo it.  But he is also the type of person who will push it to the limit and then pay for it later.

This week has seen up and down days with energy and throat pain.
However he is eating better and doesn't seem to be having the issues he was having last week with water going down the wrong way.

He coughs up nasty mucositis which is a side effect of radiation. He says that his throat hurts worse in some ways than it did when he was in treatment.

Patience little one...I want to say.  Patience.

I must admit, if I were in his place, I'd be pushing too.

His neck is starting to heal up where the skin had broken down and was opening up.  I think he'll probably scar in one area, but we've decided to call it a "Badge" for what he has been through.

A very kind friend of ours delivered hay today and so we are freshly supplied in that area.
Rich hasn't felt well enough to help with the chores.
I think balance is still an issue when he is tired.

Tomorrow we have an appointment with Speech.  I'm not sure but this may be the appointment where they check his swallowing abilities and how damaged his epiglottis is.

Then we meet with Dr. Rahim the chemo oncologist.  

We enter the after treatment phase now.  The follow up appointments and tests.

No PET scan for at least three months to see if they 'got it all'.  I probably worry about that aspect a bit more than I should.

So to sum it up.  7 days after the end of radiation, things are slightly better in some areas and improvement is slow.